1. Paris
2. Peter Pan
3. For All I Know
4. No More Buffalo
5. 12 O'Clock Whistle
6. Sixty Acres
7. Be With Me
8. Wild Man from Borneo - James McMurtry, Friedman, Kinky
9. Stancliff's Lament
10. Jaws of Life
It Had to Happen
- Audio CD: 0 pages (1997-06-17)
- Publisher: Sugarhill
- Label: Sugarhill
- Studio: Sugarhill
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 9 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #40293
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good effort 2007-01-12
Comment: Have been a JM fan for about 3 years now,bought "live in Aught-three)first and loved it.I like this studio effort just as well, "sixty acres" is a real toe tapper. McMurty's ability to spin a tale of hardworking, rural, open space livelihoods is fantastic. I will be investigating more of his work and no doubt obtaining more.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An Obscure Gem 2002-12-29
Comment: Some years ago, I chanced to hear James McMurtry perform at a small club near where I live. He was promoting his first album which had received accolades in the alternative press, and though the crowd was very thin, he played as if he were playing for thousands.
I bought that album on cassette and still have it, but I hadn't thought much about him until recently when a friend to whom I had introduced McMurtry's music brought out a stack of his newer CDs for me to hear.
Among those was It Had To Happen. When I first put it on, I was pleased but not overwhelmed. McMurtry's unmistakeable voice and style were there to be sure, but no song initially stood out. Then, as I listened more closely, it began to grow on me.
McMurtry is nothing if not sardonic and that is a quality I admire in a songwriter. Dylan has it, Nick Cave has it, and its clear that McMurtry has it too. You gotta love story songs like 12 O'clock Whistle, the sneering Sixty Acres, and the wistful No More Buffalo. But to my ears, the best song on the album is the lyrically and musically powerful Be With Me. McMurtry's bitter, sardonic delivery is just stunning and makes it a song I could play over and over again.
There are a few weak spots that detract from a higher rating, notably the too frequent repetition of the title of the otherwise well-written Jaws of Life and the inclusion of Kinky Friedman's Wild Man From Borneo. Despite that, I highly recommend buying this obscure gem by a singer/songwriter who deserves more fame than he has.
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Almost there, but no steam. 2002-07-04
Comment: McMurtry's follow-up to the 1995 "Where'd You Hide The Body" doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor. "Paris" and "No More Buffalo" are definately standout tracks, but the rest of the album is slow moving and the songs seem to have no destination. It basically winds up being an album of songs that run too long and it lacks those characters that McMurtry is so noted for creating in his first three releases.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tour West Texas if Only in Your Mind 2001-08-14
Comment: The best CD I own. Great for any mood you are in ... down, alone, happy, on top of the world. If you have ever driven in West Texas, you know this CD captures the feel of the land...open, raw, western. GREAT MUSIC FOR DRIVIN' and THINKIN'.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best album from a great songwriter 2000-04-22
Comment: If radio had any imagination, James McMurtry would be a superstar. Folk rock simply does not get any better than this. "It had to happen," his fourth album, is also his best. Not a bad song, but the tracks that really stand out are "No More Buffalo," "Twelve O'Clock Whistle," and "Jaws of Life," which are all lengthy tributes to Americana. Also of note is the fine cover of Kinky Friedman's "Wild Man from Borneo," showing once again that James has a sense of humor. If you buy one McMurtry album, this should be the one.
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It Had to Happen
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